Synergistic policies and measures are key to advancing sustainable forest management and forest-based development

The International Union of Forest Research Organizations’ Special Project “World Forests, Society and Environment” (IUFRO WFSE) carried out 27 case studies worldwide with the participation of 144 scientists and experts.... [ view full abstract ]

The International Union of Forest Research Organizations’ Special Project “World Forests, Society and Environment” (IUFRO WFSE) carried out 27 case studies worldwide with the participation of 144 scientists and experts. Using a common analytical framework, the case studies analyzed initiatives seeking to further sustainable forest management (SFM) in which considerable effort and resources have been expended over a protracted period of time. The analytical framework included a number of “prerequisite conditions (PC)” for progress towards SFM, based on prior IUFRO WFSE publications and current scholarship on the topic. The PCs were grouped in the following four realms: 1) Policies, institutions and governance; 2) Livelihoods, capacities, cultural and socioeconomic aspects; 3) Natural resource base and 4) Research and monitoring. The presentation will discuss the degree to which progress has been made in fostering the PCs that positively influence SFM. Attention will also be focused on the PCs that have been difficult to address across the case studies and that often undermine progress towards SFM. The importance of interactions among the PCs within specific cases will be emphasized, noting that efforts to attain SFM involve complex systems characterized by non-linear interactions among the conditions leading to observed outcomes, specifically in relation to contributions to local livelihoods and forest condition. Alignment among the PCs was determined to be key to creating synergies that favor progress towards SFM. The presentation will conclude illustrating how this analysis of SFM provides important lessons for the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030 that seeks to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Key words: Sustainable forest management; case studies; SDGs